Entrepreneurship

Originally posted on Marathon. We frequently encounter the following train of thought by founders: “I’m raising a seed round of one million. I haven’t found my lead investor yet, but we are close to having {Sequoia} to join the round with a small amount, say, a hundred thousand or even half of it. I don’t …

Originally posted on Marathon Venture Capital Venture Capital is a business where you reach out to a hundred people to get one’s commitment. Then a hundred people reach out to you, and it is your turn to pick the right one while knowing that it will take ten proper shots to truly make it. Still, …

Originally posted in Openfund. A short six years ago, a peer from our small startup community reached out to share an idea he had written down on a piece of paper. The idea was simple; there is a number of available taxis around you, you should be able to see them and pick the one …

It is a common mistake for founders to try and go after a very broad market right from the beginning. This is a product “for everyone”, “we already cater to a huge market”, there are “actually three core use cases”, you know how it goes. The argument is that “we don’t want to limit our …

Overnight success and quick wins. Sprints and hacks. Shortcuts, yolo. We’re getting used to value hastiness as our ideal. We give things a try; then time runs out, nothing has worked and we ‘need’ to move on. Well, here it goes: High expectations cannot be met fast. Even when they do, they leave you with …

A startup’s most precious asset is its founders. And everyone’s most precious asset is our time. Thus, a startup’s most precious asset is its founders time. As simple as this may sound, its implications are not always straightforward. What’s more, founders time provide a clear framework that can serve you well in most of your …

Never give away equity to advisors. Free doesn’t look good to anyone, it also doesn’t work. Let me provide some context. Entrepreneurs often believe that they can build credibility and get significant added value by bringing in more experienced partners, under the title of advisor. It is typical for such a title to be accompanied …

Presenting in front of people is hard. Being an entrepreneur and making your idea look simple is also genuinely difficult. Here is a rough structure that may help when presenting to potential users and partners or the general public. – Maria (photo) is a (…) and spends (time/money) doing (…). {problem — it is important …

Things take time, facts are the last to take shape. Yet there are times when you believe in something for a fact. Evidence may not be in place, but you are perfectly sure what to do next. If it really feels right, then it probably is. This is what you call conviction. You can’t make …